Tag: backpackers

Our Next Adventure – Ecuador!

So Victoria officially has finished another assignment and you all know what that means, it’s time to hit the road again. We originally had planned to outfit my Montero as an “expedition vehicle”  with a roof top tent and refrigerator and all that and then drive it across the US and then all the way down Baja again. Only this time we were going to leave it there and fly back to the fifth wheel and then after her next assignment we’d fly down, pick it up, and head into mainland Mexico via the ferry and continue south. Then we’d rinse and repeat down through Central America and then maybe put it on a boat and tour South America too. Unfortunately these grandiose plans were interrupted when shortly after we decided all this Hurricane Matthew hit the east coast and dropped a tree on my Montero I had been storing at my parents home in Savannah, Ga.

We briefly considered buying another truck and a cheap camper as a replacement but ultimately decided we didn’t feel like dealing with all that(Maybe next time?). So instead we just looked to Kayak.com to see where we could fly cheaply. We’d been to Asia recently so Victoria scrapped Indonesia, we considered Spain and Greece but it’s winter there too (and we’re tired of the cold already), and then we saw Ecuador. It’s the same time zone as the east coast so that’s convenient, they speak spanish and so do I now, it’s on the equator so it’s always warm(Ecuador means equator in spanish), it seemed perfect .

Most people I’ve told don’t seem to know where Ecuador even is. It is a small country in South America on the Pacific coast in between Colombia and Peru. For a small country it has a huge variety in landscapes from the colonial towns of Quito(the second highest capital in the world) and Cuenca, to the Andes mountains, the Amazon rainforest, the Pacific coast, cloud forests, and the world famous Galapagos Islands(we won’t be visiting them as it would cost as much as the rest of the trip combined!).

We’ll be traveling for a little over five weeks and that should give us enough time to view a good part of the country. We’ll be backpacking as usual and getting around mostly by bus. As usual we’ve made zero reservations other than we’ll be flying into Quito on the 6th of January and back out on the 14th of February. We will be making a reservations at some point for our first night in Quito but other than that we’ll be winging it. We have a general plan to hit spend a few nights in Quito, head down into the Amazon, travel down the spine of the Andes, cut over to the coast and work our way back up, and then back to Quito and home. Something like below.

First we’re headed home for the holidays for two weeks. I had to get something up as we were interviewed by a friend of mine for a podcast called “Breaking The Chains”(I’ll post a link when it goes live) about people who live a bit outside the norms(us?) and I didn’t want any new visitors to think we’re too morbid with the first post being about the tragedy of Pol Pot’s rule in Cambodia. Stay tuned, I might even get around to posting about Koh Rong, the last place we went in Cambodia and an absolutely stunning island.

The road less traveled, Nha Trang to Doc Let.

From Mui Ne we bought our bus tickets from a travel agent conveniently located down the ally from our hotel.  The tickets were 100,000 VMD each (about $4.50). It was our first time in a sleeper bus.  The ride was fairly comfortable and went by fast.

Sleeper bus
Sleeper bus. I invested in a face mask which helps block out second hand smoke and automobile exhaust.

Five hours later we were dropped off in Nha Trang.  We knew we were in serious tourist territory on the way to our hotel with many white faces, mostly Russian, flooding the streets.  After checking out a couple different hotels, we decided on the Sunny Sea Hotel.  It’s nestled down a quiet ally only one block away from the beach.  They quoted $20/night but came down to $18/night after we said we had to look around a bit.  We had a balcony which overlooked the ally. We don’t usually like to stay in the tourist zone because of the inflated prices on food but it didn’t take long for us to find where the locals hang out.  From the hotel it’s only a 10 min walk to the street, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, where you will find lots of cheap eats.

All the reviews about the beach in Nha Trang were true, it’s spectacular.  Despite all the tourism the beach is kept pretty clean for Vietnamese standards. The water is clear, the sand is white, the waves were calm so swimming was great as well.  The only problem was the hawkers who pace up and down the beach trying to sell you everything from artwork to corn on the cob.  I recommend renting beach chairs from the Louasiane Brewhouse for $40,000 ($1.80) where you also have access to a nice pool and showers.  Another perk I liked about renting chairs from the brewhouse is how the hawkers can’t come up to your chairs while on the beach.  They will however yell at you from outside the “no solicitation” zone.

The pool at Louasiane Brewhouse.
The pool at Louasiane Brewhouse.

 Another thing Nha Trang is known for is it’s night life and party atmosphere.  To be honest I can’t really say if it this is true because we didn’t go out after 10 p.m.  During the day we didn’t see anything but families and couples. Maybe the partiers all come out later.  We were however told four different times to be careful with our bags on the beach.  Apparently, Nha Trang is also known for its bag snatchers and pick pockets.  

A street at night in Nha Trang.
A street at night in Nha Trang.

After three nights we were ready for a slower pace.  We took the local bus (number 3) to Doc Let beach, about an hour and a half north of Nha Trang and only costs 24,000 VMD each ($1).  Accommodations are quite slim here, especially when arriving on a Saturday so plan accordingly.  I highly recommend staying at Paradise Resort.  It’s a mile walk down the beach from where the bus drops you off. An aircon room for two that includes all 3 meals was $60 a night.  Those who know us know how cheap we are so $60 a night is a lot to us. BUT… We were literally right on the beach.  I was a little worried about the all-inclusive meal deal but all the meals exceeded my expectations.  Lunch and dinner ranged from 3-4 courses. They also had beer and coke which are less than a dollar a piece.

To me Doc Let was more enjoyable than Nha Trang where you can’t go five seconds without hearing the honk of an automobile or being hawked for sunglasses or motorbike rentals every five minutes. I would definitely return to Paradise resort.  After three very enjoyable nights, we walked back down the beach to the bus stop and took the local bus to Ninh Hoa where we waited for another bus to pick us up to continue our journey north to Qui Nhon.

Good Mornin’ Vietnam!

We were horribly exhausted after traveling for 32 hours when we arrived at 2 am in HCMC (Ho Chi Minh City), formally known as Saigon.  Thankfully it was a breeze getting through customs since we were literally the only flight to arrive at that time.  We had our visa set up to pay on arrival so there was no issue there either.  The only reservation we made for the entire 10 weeks we will be traveling was for the first night so the hotel would set up the airport shuttle. We didn’t want to worry about how to get to the hotel and it only cost $14 dollars. It wasn’t until after we arrived that we discovered Uber works in HCMC and it would have been 1/3 of the cost.  Anyways we stated at Madam Cuc 184.  It costs $20 a night.  The hotel is in a quiet part of the backpackers district which can get crazy at night.  The rooms and bathrooms were clean.  The only thing I didn’t like was how they lock the gate at 2300 each night.  Since we were jet lagged we would wake up at 0300 in the morning and were stuck.  Also the manager requested to hold our passports during our stay.  At first I was a little sketched out but we later learned that this is actually a law.  All hotels are supposed to take your passports.

There are plenty of options to eat around the hotel including a market.  The park is right around the corner and we were surprised at all the Vietnamese people getting up early to exercise in the park.  Some were doing their own thing, some were in groups all wearing the same shirts.  We saw people doing the fan dancing thing, Thai chi, and aerobic dancing.  Tim and I decided to jump in and play too. 🙂

We read about the hazards of pedestrians in the city so we were mentally prepared.  Some streets are easy but some times you have to literally put yourself out there, with a confident step you will succeed in crossing the street.  The cars and buses are the real threat.  They are like the great white sharks of the road and will squash you without hesitation.  The motorbikes can easily manuever around you.  Once you do it a couple of times you get the flow of traffic and will understand.  There is a method to the madness.

While in the city we visited two different museums, the War Remnants museum and the Reunification Palace. The war remnants museum was interesting and displays the atrocities of the war.  However, some of the facts and portrayal of the Americans are slightly skewed.  It was nice to stroll around the Reunification Palace and view the luxurious rooms and underground bunker.

HCMC smells of cigarettes and gasoline with a hint of fish sauce.  Smoking is an epidemic here and the motorbikes are everywhere.  The fish sauce comes from the food obviously.  However it is delightful and charming in its own way.  It’s a vibrant city and there is always something to do at all hours of the day.  This is why it’s a good place to be whilst getting over jet lag since there is always somewhere open to get beer, food, or whatever your heart desires.  The Vietnamese people are very friendly and willing to help us even while we butcher the correct pronunciation of their language.  Google translate has been a God send and I highly recommend downloading the Vietnamese language pack.  For some reason I was under the impression that most people spoke English here. We are slowly picking up phrases and it always helps to smile when approaching people. 🙂